


Custom Made

by infiniteeight



Series: A/B/O Domesticity [2]
Category: Rambo Series (Movies)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 03:29:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteeight/pseuds/infiniteeight
Summary: Sam has a gift for John. Hopefully, now that he knows what John wants, he's gotten this one right.





	Custom Made

**Author's Note:**

> A friend offered to beta the rest of the series, but I didn't want to wait for this one, because I'm kind of hoping to get a couple comments for Christmas. So all errors remain mine.

Sam stopped in front of the door and took a slow breath, hands clenching around the velvet bag he held. 

After he and John had re-established contact with Griggs’ network of contacts Griggs had arranged for both of them to be withdrawn all the way to Bangkok, urgently enough that they didn’t stop for medical attention first. It made sense; after what John had done in Afghanistan, leaving either of them in the area was asking for trouble. 

In Bangkok they’d spent a couple days in the hospital making sure their injuries were stable before being moved into a guest room in the U.S. embassy. They could have arranged separate accommodations, but Sam had to admit he liked the security of the embassy, and he was hoping that spending a little time in a place that was sort of halfway would make the transition from Bangkok to the U.S. less jarring for John.

John was hiding it well, but Sam could see how wary and unsettled he was as his life changed around him. Hopefully, Sam’s gift would make that better, not worse.

Sam took another breath and knocked lightly on the door to their room before opening it. “John?”

Looking up from where he was sitting on the bed, leaning back against the headboard, John’s expression lightened when he saw Sam. “Hey,” he said warmly, closing the book he was holding and setting it aside. “Errand all taken care of?”

“Yes,” Sam said, closing the door and crossing the room to sit on the bed facing John. _I hope,_ he added silently. He just looked at John for a minute, drinking in the sight of him.

If Sam hadn’t seen John stick fighting in Bangkok before finding him at the monastery, he might have believed that John was at peace there. His mask of contentment, if not happiness, had been convincing. But now Sam saw what _real_ contentment looked like on John. It was beautiful.

How no other alpha had seen what a remarkable mate John would make, Sam would never know. He’s loyal and dedicated, gorgeous and strong, smart and focused. He would--he _wants_ \--to give his alpha everything, if only they’d give him a place to belong, a home to care for, and a family. Now that Sam knew that, he swore that John would never feel lost again, would never be left adrift again.

He held out the velvet bag. “I know courting gifts have gone out of fashion,” Sam said, “but I wanted to get you something. And I,” suddenly he was nauseatingly nervous, “I thought you might like this.”

“Sir-- Sam,” John said, even as his fingers closed around the bag. “I don’t need anything but you.”

“Maybe not,” Sam said, heart pounding, “but I want to give you everything.”

His nerves must have shown, because John’s gaze took on a curious edge. Sam released the velvet bag to John’s grip and John hooked his fingers into the mouth of it, pulling the drawstring open. His expression turned to puzzlement as he tugged the leather free. The puzzlement persisted for one breathless moment, and then John’s eyes widened as he recognized what he was holding.

It was an archer’s bracer, and if courting gifts in general were out of fashion, then this one was damn near forgotten. It’s an old, old tradition, going back to times when omegas were the den’s last line of defense against an attack. More than that, as a courting gift, a bracer was a statement of intent. You didn’t give that sort of thing to a partner just because you enjoyed their company or wanted to see where things were going. A bracer was for a serious relationship. 

For all their discussion of mating and the bond that they’d started, it was too soon to ask John to marry him. Maybe living in the U.S. would be too much, no matter how badly John wanted a mate. Maybe they’d discover that they didn’t work as well together in ordinary, everyday lives as they did in war zones. It was possible, but this gift was a proclamation that marriage was what they were aiming for.

It wasn’t the sort of gesture most omegas appreciated these days, but as John’s shock faded, he stroked the decorative brass studs with tender fingers and Sam knew that he’d read John right.

“Where did you even find this?” John asked, looking up at Sam with shining eyes.

“A hunting store,” Sam admitted. John blinked and broke into peals of laughter, and Sam couldn’t help but grin along with him. When was the last time he saw John laugh like that? Had he _ever_ seen John laugh like that? “I had a leathersmith do the brass studs, though,” Sam added as John calmed. 

Each bit of decorative brass was round, flat, and about a quarter inch in diameter. They were arranged in an interlocking series of curves, and they were confined to the outside of the bracer, leaving the inner arm smooth, which meant it was still functional. Given unlimited time, Sam would have chosen a different style of decoration, but the Army was likely to pull him--and therefore John--out of Bangkok at any moment, so he’d chosen something that the leathersmith could finish within a day with materials on hand. The man had outdone himself despite the limitations and turned the simple store bought bracer into something beautiful.

“I’m guessing the velvet bag is also custom,” John said, still grinning. He loosened the laces and slipped the bracer over his forearm.

“I wasn’t about to hand it to you in a cardboard box,” Sam confirmed. The leathersmith had thrown the bag in with his good wishes when Sam explained what the bracer was for, but Sam would have found an appropriate container regardless.

John finished tightening the laces and paused, looking up at Sam almost through his eyelashes. He could have finished tying them off, but as the pause stretched Sam found himself reaching out to secure the bracer himself. When he was done he tucked the laces away and let his fingers rest lightly on John’s arm.

Their eyes met for a moment before John leaned in and kissed Sam. It was slow and deep and quiet, the kind of kiss that could last you for years if only it didn’t make you hungry for another one. Their lips parted and John murmured, “It’s perfect.”

Sam let out a soft breath, his nerves transmuted into a deep, calm satisfaction. _So this_ , he thought, _is what it feels like when you’ve found the right mate._ “I’m glad,” he said, and kissed John again, because one kiss didn’t have to last him years. He’d finally, _finally_ gotten it right, and now it was all about moving forward.

~End~


End file.
